Buried treasure: Historical coin hoard found buried under a cottage
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Some of the coins date back to the 1500s
There are many films about pirates roaming the seas in the search for buried treasure, but imagine if it was right under your feet the whole time.
That's what happened to a couple from Dorset who were doing some renovation work to their new home when they discovered a historical coin hoard dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.
The collection of more than 1,000 gold and silver coins was discovered under an earth floor at South Poorton in Dorset.
The coins fetched £60,000 at auction - that's double the estimated price!
The cottage floor was being dug up when the coins were found
How was the Poorton coin hoard found?
The cottage where the coins were discovered was a 17th century long house. Work was being done to increase the height of the rooms downstairs by digging lower into the ground.
One of the property's owners was digging using a torch when he found the trove in a pottery bowl in October 2019.
He put the coins in a bucket and carried on digging.
The couple only realised they were valuable after examining the coins and seeing their dates the next day.
The hoard was found in a pottery bowl
What was in the coin hoard?
It contained a vast variety of coins. These included James I and Charles I gold coins, silver half crowns, shillings and sixpences; Elizabeth I, Phillip and Mary silver shillings and sixpences.
A shilling is worth around 12p in today's money and a sixpence is worth half a shilling.
The top selling item was a gold coin depicting Charles I. It was estimated to sell for between £1,000-£2,000 but was sold for more than double at £5,000.
The British Museum guessed they were deposited early in the English Civil War (1642-51) by a landowner trying to keep his wealth safe.
This gold coin of Charles I sold for £5,000
What was the English Civil War?
Charles I became King of England in 1625. He repeatedly fell out with the English Parliament, which resulted in the outbreak of a civil war in 1642.
After nearly seven years of war, Charles was defeated and put on trial for treason in 1649, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. The conflict finally came to an end in 1651.
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